Seating furniture item with telescopic leg support element and separate seat inclination adjustment means

ABSTRACT

A seating furniture item with an adjustable-inclination seat part, a back part, a chassis and an at least two-piece leg support connected pivotably on the seat part and/or on the chassis, wherein the parts of the leg support can be displaced relative to one another during pivoting. A part of the leg support is formed by way of a telescopic leg support element which is retracted when the leg support is pivoted in and is extended in order to increase the length of the leg support when the leg support is pivoted out. By way of a first part stroke, a linear actuator brings about a displacement of the seat part relative to the chassis and a simultaneous inclination adjustment of the seat part, wherein no pivoting out or in of the leg support relative to the seat part takes place during this first part stroke of the linear actuator.

This nonprovisional application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/DE2021/000213, which was filed on Dec. 27, 2021, and which claims priority to German Patent Application No. 10 2021 004 872.5, which was filed in Germany on Sep. 25, 2021, and to German Patent Application No. 20 2020 005 303.1, which was filed in Germany on Dec. 28, 2020, and which are all herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a seating furniture item with a telescopic leg support element, comprising a seat part, a back part, a chassis and a leg support pivotably connected to the seat part and/or the chassis, wherein the seat furniture item is adjustable between a sitting and a reclined position, wherein in the sitting position, the leg support is substantially pivoted below the seat part and, in the reclined position, is pivoted out in front of the seat part in such a way that the seat part is extended by the leg support, wherein the leg support comprises two rails pivotably connected to the seat part on which the telescopic leg support element is movably attached in the longitudinal direction of the rails, wherein the leg support element is retracted when the leg support is pivoted in and is extended when the leg support is pivoted out in order to increase the length of the leg support.

Description of the Background Art

Typically, seating furniture items have full-length cushioning extending over seat part and leg support. For an attractive design, the adjustment fitting of the seating furniture item must be designed in such a way that the cushioning is tightened when the leg support is unfolded.

To achieve this, the leg support must be simultaneously pivoted and extended as it is being unfolded.

Seating furniture items of the generic type are known from the documents DE102014103536A1 and DE202004011998U1.

With this seating furniture item, the pivoting of the leg support relative to the seat part is coupled with a simultaneous displacement and inclination adjustment of the seat part relative to the chassis, so that an adjustment of the inclination of the seat part always brings about a simultaneous, motion-synchronous pivoting out or in of the leg support.

The disadvantage here is that it is not possible for the user to adjust the inclination of the seat part and the leg support independently of each other.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a seating furniture item such that an adjustment of the seat part inclination and an adjustment of the leg support can be operated independently of each other.

According to the invention, the above object is achieved by a seating furniture item with a telescopic leg support element and a separate seat inclination adjuster.

Due to the features according to the invention, it is possible that, starting from the sitting position of the seating furniture item, the seat part is displaced forward in a first adjustment step caused by a first part stroke of a linear actuator, thereby lowering the rear area of the seat part and raising the front area of the seat part so that the seat part is adjusted in inclination relative to the sitting position, wherein in this first intermediate position of the seating furniture item, also known as the “lounging position”, the leg support is not yet pivoted out.

In a second adjustment step caused by a second part stroke of the linear actuator, the leg support is pivoted out in front of the seat part without any further adjustment of the seat part, whereby a second intermediate position, also known as the “relaxation position”, is reached.

Thus, a seating furniture item of the present invention offers the advantage of an additional function in that the user can assume a more relaxed sitting posture as compared to the sitting position of the seating furniture item without the leg support being pivoted out, whereby the adjustment comfort of the seating furniture item according to the invention is increased as compared to the seating furniture item from DE102014103536A1 and DE202004011998U1.

Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes, combinations, and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are not limitive of the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a seat furniture item according to the invention, in the reclined position of the seating furniture item (right side);

FIG. 2 shows a seat furniture item according to the invention, in the sitting position of the seating furniture item;

FIG. 3 shows a seating furniture item according to the invention as per FIG. 2 , with the seat inclination adjusted (“lounging position”);

FIG. 4 shows a seating furniture item according to the invention as per FIG. 3 , with a partially pivoted leg support;

FIG. 5 shows a seat furniture item according to the invention with a seat part adjusted in inclination and a pivoted leg support (“relaxation position”);

FIG. 6 shows a seating furniture item according to the invention as per FIG. 1 , in a detail view;

FIG. 7 shows a seating furniture item according to the invention in a sectional view, in the sitting position of the seating furniture item;

FIG. 8 shows a seating furniture item according to the invention as per FIG. 7 , with the seat inclination adjusted (“lounging position”);

FIG. 9 shows a seating furniture item according to the invention in a sectional view, with the seat part adjusted in inclination and the leg support pivoted out (“relaxation position”); and

FIG. 10 shows a seating furniture item according to the invention in the sitting position of the seating furniture item, in a detail view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The illustrations in the drawing essentially show only the mechanism of the seating furniture item 1 according to the invention without the parts not of interest here, such as cushions.

Some of the components mentioned below are in duplicate due to a largely mirror-image structure of the mechanics of the seating furniture item 1, wherein these components are discussed in the following in each case in the singular, although both components are meant in each case.

A seating furniture item 1 according to the invention includes a chassis 5, a seat part 3, a back part 4 and a leg support 6 pivotably connected to the seat part 3, wherein the seating furniture item 1 is adjustable from a sitting position (FIG. 2 ) displaced to the rear edge of the seating furniture item 1, in which the leg support 6 is essentially pivoted in below seat part 3, to a reclined position (FIG. 1 ) displaced to the front edge of the seating furniture item 1, in which the leg support 6 is pivoted out in front of the seat part 3 in such a way that the seat part 3 is extended by the leg support 6.

The terms “front edge of the seating furniture item” and “rear edge of the seating furniture item” refer to the perspective of a person sitting on the seating furniture item, their legs pointing forward and their back pointing backwards.

The leg support 6 is designed in two parts, wherein a part of the leg support 6 is formed by two pivoting rails 9 hinged on the seat part 3 and another part is formed by a telescopic leg support element 2, which is arranged in a movable manner in the longitudinal direction of the rails 9, wherein the telescopic leg support element 2 is retracted when the leg support 6 is pivoted in (FIGS. 2, 3, 7, 8, 10 ) and extended when the leg support 6 is pivoted out in order to increase the length of the leg support 6 (FIGS. 1, 5, 6, 9 ).

During the adjustment of the seating furniture item 1 from the sitting to the reclined position, the seat part 3 is displaced forward via a pivot guide 26 relative to the chassis 5 and at the same time adjusted in inclination, wherein the pivot guide 26 has a front 7 and a rear handlebar lever 8, which form a four-bar linkage (FIG. 5 ) with the seat part 3 and the chassis 5.

The adjustment movement of the seat part 3 in the direction of the front edge of the seating furniture item 1 is blocked by a stop element 27 on the chassis side (FIG. 5 ).

The pivot guide 26 is subjected to force by means of at least one tension spring 25, wherein the tension spring 25 acts between the seat part 3 and the chassis 5 in such a way that the tension spring 25 shortens in the direction of the front edge of the seating furniture item 1 during the adjustment movement of the seat part 3 (FIGS. 2, 6 ).

A first 10 and/or a second articulated lever 11 are/is hinged to the seat part 3, wherein, in the sitting position of the seating furniture item 1, a longitudinal axis formed between the two end hinge points 18, 19 of at least one of the first 10 and/or the second articulated levers 11 is arranged at an angle to the seat part 3 and the end hinge point 18 of this articulated lever facing the seat part 3 is positioned closer to a vertical plane spanned by the front edge of the seat part 15 than the end hinge point 19 of this articulated lever facing away from the seat part 3.

At least one of the first 10 and/or the second articulated levers 11 has a stop element 28, which comes into contact with a stop surface of a seat part tab 29 connected to the front area of seat part 3 during the pivoting movement of the leg support 6 (FIG. 2 ).

The terms “the end hinge point facing the seat part” and “the end hinge point facing away from the seat part” mean the shortest distance between an end hinge point of an articulated lever and the seat part, wherein an end hinge point of an articulated lever facing towards the seat part has a shorter distance to the seat part than an end hinge point of this articulated lever facing away from the seat part.

The first 10 and/or the second articulated lever 11 are/is coupled to the telescopic leg support element 2 in such a way that an adjustment of one of the first 10 and/or the second articulated levers 11 relative to the seat part 3 brings about a pivoting out or in of the leg support 6 relative to the seat part 3 and a simultaneous displacement of the telescopic leg support element 2 along the rails 9.

A linear actuator 23 is coupled with a first end to the chassis 5 and with a second end to the first 10 and/or the second articulated lever 11 via a cross brace 24 connected to the first 10 or the second articulated lever 11 (FIGS. 6, 7, 8, 9 ).

In the starting position or the sitting position of the seating furniture item 1, due to the linear actuator 23 hinged between the chassis 5 and the cross brace 24, the leg support 6 is held in the pivoted end position by means of the stop element 28 acting between the seat part tab 29 and the first 10 and/or the second articulated lever 11.

When actuated, the linear actuator 23 generates a linear stroke formed of at least a first and a second part stroke, wherein the linear actuator 23 brings about, with a first part stroke, starting from the sitting position of the seating furniture item 1, by means of the pivot guide 26, a displacement of the seat part 3 forward relative to the chassis and a simultaneous adjustment in the inclination of the seat part 3 until the rear handlebar lever 8 of the pivot guide 26 comes into contact with the chassis-side stop element 27 and the pivot guide 26 is thereby blocked, wherein during this first part stroke of the linear actuator 23 there is no pivoting out or in of the leg support 6 relative to the seat part 3 (FIGS. 3, 8 ).

The tension spring 25 shortens during this first adjustment step and thus supports the adjustment movement of the seat part 3, whereby the seat part 3 is first adjusted relative to the seat part 3 without pivoting the leg support 6.

At the end of the first adjustment step, the front edge of the seat part 3 has a greater distance to the contact plane of the seating furniture item 1 than in the sitting position of the seating furniture item 1, which allows for the use of a longer leg support 6 due to a larger pivoting space being available.

The further advantage of this intermediate position of the seating furniture item 1 reached at the end of the first adjustment step is the possibility for the user, as compared to with the seating furniture item known from DE102014103536A1 and DE202004011998U1, to perform an additional adjustment function, also known as a “lounging position” (FIGS. 3 and 8 ).

Thus, in a structurally simple manner, a seating furniture item of the present invention offers, on the one hand, the advantage of a longer leg support 6 as compared to the generic seating furniture items and thus improved reclining comfort, and on the other hand, the advantage of improved sitting comfort due to the possibility for the user to adopt a more relaxed sitting posture as compared to the sitting position of the seating furniture item.

In a second adjustment step of the seating furniture item 1 from the sitting to the reclined position effected by a second part stroke of the linear actuator 23, the inclination and displacement position of the seat part 3 relative to the chassis 5 achieved at the end of the first part stroke while retaining the position of the back part 4 relative to the seat part 3, brings about a pivoting out of the leg support 6 relative to the seat part 3 until the leg support 6 has reached the pivoted-out end position and the seating furniture item 1 has thus reached a second intermediate position, also known as the “relaxation position” (FIGS. 5, 9 ).

In the reverse adjustment direction, i.e., in the direction of the sitting position of the seating furniture item 1, the functional sequence described above takes place in reverse order: starting from the “relaxation position” of the seating furniture item 1, upon actuation of a first part stroke of the linear actuator 23, due to the spring force of the tension spring 25 to be overcome, the leg support 6 is first pivoted in until the pivoted-in end position is reached by means of the stop element 28 acting between the seat part tab 29 and the first 10 and/or the second articulated lever 11; and upon actuation of a second part stroke of the linear actuator 23, against the spring force of the tension spring 25, the seat part 3 is displaced relative to the chassis 5 in the direction of the rear edge of the seating furniture item 1 until the sitting position of the seating furniture item 1 is reached.

According to the invention, the pivot of the leg support 6 is carried out by means of a lever adjustment gear hinged on the seat part 3, wherein the first 10 and the second articulated lever 11 are hinged on the one hand on a front part of the seat part 3 and on the other hand on a articulated lever 16, wherein, in the sitting position of the seating furniture item 1, a third 12 and a fourth articulated lever 13 have an orientation in which a longitudinal axis formed between the two end hinge points 20, 21 of at least one of the third 12 and/or the fourth articulated levers 13 is arranged at an angle to the seat part 3 and in this case, the end hinge point 21 of this articulated lever facing away from the seat part 3 is positioned closer to a vertical plane spanned by the front edge of the seat part 15 than the end hinge point 20 of said articulated lever facing towards the seat part 3, wherein the third 12 and the fourth articulated lever 13 on the one hand are each hinged to the coupling lever 16 and, on the other hand, are each hinged with their end hinge points 20, 22 facing the seat part 3, in the sitting position of the seating furniture item 1, to a fifth articulated lever 14, wherein one of the third 12 and/or the fourth articulated lever 13 is extended beyond its pivot point on the coupling lever 16 and is hinged at its free end to a first end of a control lever 17, the second end of which is hinged to a central area of one of the first 10 and/or the second articulated levers 11, wherein the fifth articulated lever 14 is hinged on the one hand to the third 12 and the fourth articulated lever 13 and, on the other hand, is hinged with its free end to the telescopic leg support element 2.

In this context, “a central area of the articulated lever” does not refer to the exact geometric center, but to the entire area of an articulated lever located between the two end hinge points.

During the adjustment of the seating furniture item 1 from the sitting to the reclined position, the first 10 and/or the second articulated lever 11 are pivoted in such a way that the coupling lever 16 is pushed forward in relation to the seat part 3, wherein at the same time the third 12 and the fourth articulated lever 13 are pivoted in relation to the coupling lever 16 and the fifth articulated lever 14 is thereby pushed forward in relation to the coupling lever 16.

Due to the arrangement according to the invention and the adding pivot movements of the first 10 and/or the second articulated lever 11 on the one hand and the third 12 and/or the fourth articulated lever 13 on the other hand, in which, during the adjustment of the seating furniture item 1 from the sitting to the reclined position, one of the first 10 and/or the second articulated levers 11 is pivoted by an angle of preferably more than 200° against one of the third 12 and/or the fourth articulated levers 13, overall a large travel is achieved for the lever adjustment gear.

According to the invention, the first 10 and/or the second articulated lever 11 on the one hand and the third 12 and/or the fourth articulated lever 13 on the other hand are arranged in such a way that during about the first half of the pivoting of the seating furniture item 1 from the sitting to the reclined position, the coupling lever 16 is lowered relative to the seat part 3, wherein at the same time all sections of the fifth articulated lever 14 are raised relative to the coupling lever 16.

The lowering of the coupling lever 16 is thus virtually compensated for by a simultaneous raising of the fifth articulated lever 14 relative to the coupling lever 16, causing the pivot point of the fifth articulated lever 14 to follow an almost linear or “flat” movement curve near the front edge of the seat part 15 on the telescopic leg support element 2 during a first phase of the pivoting from the sitting to the reclined position.

According to the invention, this achieves that during an approximately first half of the adjustment of the seating furniture item 1 from the sitting to the reclined position, the leg support 6 is pivoted and the leg support element 2 is not or only slightly displaced relative to the rails 9 (FIG. 4 ).

Only when the leg support 6 is further pivoted in the direction of the reclined position of the seating furniture item 1 is the leg support element 2 then displaced in the longitudinal direction of the rails 9 until the extended end position is reached (FIGS. 1, 5, 6, 9 ).

The inventive effect of a “flat” movement curve of the pivot point of the fifth articulated lever 14 on the telescopic leg support element 2 enables the use of a much longer leg support element 2 than that in the well-known, generic seating furniture item, so that in combination with the above-mentioned large travel of the lever adjustment gear, a particularly long leg support surface according to the invention, in the pivoted-out position of the leg support 6, and thus increased reclining comfort can be provided for the user.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are to be included within the scope of the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A seating furniture item comprising: an adjustable-inclination seat part; a back part; a chassis; and an at least two-piece leg support pivotably connected on the seat part and/or on the chassis, wherein parts of the leg support are adapted to be displaced relative to one another during pivoting, wherein the seating furniture item is adjustable between a sitting and a reclined position, for which in the sitting position, the leg support is essentially pivoted in below the seat part and, in the reclined position, is pivoted out in front of the seat part such that the seat part is extended by the leg support, wherein part of the leg support is formed by a telescopic leg support element which is retracted when the leg support is pivoted in and is extended in order to increase the length of the leg support when the leg support is pivoted out, wherein at least one linear actuator is provided for the adjustment of the seat part and the leg support, the linear actuator generating a linear stroke formed of at least one first and one second part stroke when actuated, wherein, via the first part stroke, the linear actuator brings about a displacement of the seat part relative to the chassis and a substantial simultaneous inclination adjustment of the seat part, wherein no pivoting out or in of the leg support relative to the seat part takes place during this first part stroke of the linear actuator, and wherein, via the second part stroke, the linear actuator brings about pivoting out or in of the leg support relative to the seat part and a substantially simultaneous displacement of the telescopic leg support element.
 2. The seating furniture item according to claim 1, wherein, via a part stroke, the linear actuator merely brings about pivoting out or in of the leg support relative to the seat part without an adjustment of the seat part relative to the chassis and without an adjustment of the back part relative to the seat part.
 3. The seating furniture item according to claim 1, wherein the seating part, at least during a subphase of the adjustment of the seating furniture item from the sitting to the reclined position, is displaced forward relative to the chassis via a pivot guide, and wherein the pivot guide has a front and a rear handlebar lever, which forms a four-bar linkage with the seat part and the chassis.
 4. The seating furniture item according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment movement of the seat part in the direction of the front edge of the seating furniture item is blocked by a chassis-side stop element.
 5. The seating furniture item according to claim 1, wherein the pivot guide is subjected to force via at least one tension spring, wherein the tension spring acts between the seat part and the chassis such that it causes the tension spring to shorten during the adjustment movement of the seat part in the direction of the front edge of the seating furniture item.
 6. The seating furniture item according to claim 1, wherein the leg support comprises one or more pivotably hinged rails on the seat part on which the telescopic leg support element is movably arranged in the longitudinal direction of the rails.
 7. The seating furniture item according to claim 1, wherein, in the sitting position of the seating furniture item, a first and/or a second articulated lever are/is hinged on the seat part and a longitudinal axis formed between the two end hinge points of at least one of the first and/or the second articulated levers is arranged at an angle to the seat part, wherein the end hinge point of said articulated lever facing the seat part is positioned closer to a vertical plane spanned by the front edge of the seat than the end hinge point of said articulated lever facing away from the seat part, and wherein at least one of the first and/or the second articulated levers is coupled to the telescopic leg support element in such a way that an adjustment of one of the first and/or the second articulated lever relative to the seat part brings about pivoting out or in of the leg support relative to the seat part and a simultaneous displacement of the telescopic leg support element along the rails.
 8. The seating furniture item according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and/or the second articulated levers has a stop element and the stop element comes into contact with a stop surface of a seat part tab connected to the front area of the seat part during the pivoting movement of the leg support.
 9. The seating furniture item according to claim 1, wherein, in the sitting position of the seating furniture item, a first and/or a second articulated lever is/are hinged on the seat part and a longitudinal axis formed between the two end joint points by at least one of the first and/or the second articulated levers is arranged at an angle to the seat part, wherein the end hinge point facing the seat part of said articulated lever is positioned closer to a vertical plane spanned by the front edge of the seat part than the end hinge point of said articulated lever facing away from the seat part, wherein, in the sitting position of the seating furniture item, a third and a fourth articulated lever have an orientation in which a longitudinal axis formed between the two end hinge points of at least one of the third and/or the fourth articulated levers is arranged at an angle to the seat part, wherein the end hinge point of said articulated lever facing away from the seat part is positioned closer to a vertical plane spanned by the front edge of the seat than the end hinge point of said articulated lever facing the seat part, wherein the third and the fourth articulated lever, in the sitting position of the seating furniture item, are each connected to a fifth articulated lever with their end hinge points facing the seat part, wherein a control lever is hinged on the one hand to the first or second articulated lever and on the other hand to the third or fourth articulated lever, wherein a coupling lever is hinged to the first and/or the second articulated lever and/or to the third and/or the fourth articulated lever, and wherein the fifth articulated lever is hinged to the third and the fourth articulated lever and, on the other hand, with its free end, is hinged to the telescopic leg support element.
 10. The seating furniture item according to claim 1, wherein during a subphase of the pivoting of the seating furniture item from the sitting to the reclined position, the coupling lever is lowered relative to the seat part, and wherein at the same time all sections of the fifth articulated lever are raised relative to the coupling lever.
 11. The seating furniture item according to claim 1, wherein the first and the second articulated lever are each hinged on a front part of the seat part and to the coupling lever, the third and fourth articulated levers are each hinged to the coupling lever and to the fifth articulated lever, and wherein one of the third and/or the fourth articulated lever is extended beyond its pivot point on the coupling lever and hinged at its free end on a first end of the control lever, the second end of which is hinged to a central area of one of the first and/or the second articulated levers.
 12. The seating furniture item according to claim 1, wherein the linear actuator is coupled with a first end to the chassis and with a second end to the first and/or the second articulated lever via a cross brace connected to the first or the second articulated lever. 